


Perfect Doesn't Always Have to Be Perfect

by ennochikara



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst?, Ennoshita is oblivious, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Idiots in Love, Kinoshita Narita and Noya are very supportive, M/M, Pining, Tanaka is a disaster, brief mention of asanoya, idk lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23697772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ennochikara/pseuds/ennochikara
Summary: “Hey Chikara,” Tanaka put down his pencil and eyed his friend sitting across the table. Ennoshita looked up and met Tanaka’s gaze, curiosity evident in his eyes. “What’s your idea of a perfect date?”‘Anywhere with you’ is what he wanted to say, but he knew that could never happen.OR: Ennoshita Chikara is hopelessly in love with Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 24
Kudos: 205





	1. A Little More Than a Crush

Ennoshita doesn’t really remember when it started. At first it started with stealing a few glances when they were changing in the club room. Not a big deal, Tanaka was well built after all and Ennoshita knew a good body when he saw one. Nothing wrong with appreciating his friend’s hard work. But the glances quickly turned into stares, stares that were no longer confined to just the club room. Ennoshita caught himself gazing in Tanaka's direction more times than he’d like to admit: during practice, during class, at lunch, even at their group study meetings. He'd have to look away when Tanaka took off his shirt and whirled it around during practice to hide his blush. And whenever they were alone his heart rate would spike (he wondered if Tanaka could hear it).

Unsurprisingly, Kinoshita and Narita were the first ones to realize what was wrong with their friend. From the slight blush that would grace Ennoshita's face to the way he'd stiffen up around Tanaka, it was painfully obvious to them (and likely to the rest of the team as well) that their soon to be captain had fallen hard for the hot-headed second year. To get a little fun out of it, they decided to interrogate him at lunch while Tanaka and Noya went to get lunch.

“Hey Chikara,” Kinoshita did his best to hide his smirk, “you like Tanaka right?” Whatever cool Ennoshita had at that moment immediately vanished, his face turning a bright red from both embarrassment and from the piece of siopao he was now choking on.

“How the hell did you know?” Ennoshita was able to get out between coughs, glancing around to make sure the subject of their conversation was nowhere near. 

“Well you haven’t been exactly subtle about it Chikara. It’s hard to watch sometimes.” Kinoshita chuckles, remembering the time Ennoshita ran into a pole because he was staring at Tanaka.

“Oh come on guys,” Ennoshita rolls his eyes, regaining his composure. “I can’t be that bad, right?” He’s not sure if he wants his question answered.

“Oh it’s bad Chikara,” Narita chimes in. “Like bad bad.” 

Ennoshita sighs in defeat, slowly sinking back into his chair. He knew he stared at Tanaka a lot, but he didn’t think it was so obvious. He takes another bite of his lunch and makes a mental note to stop his staring. “Do you think there’s at least a chance?” Ennoshita asks dejectedly. He knows the answer but maybe hearing it will help him get over this whole thing quickly. 

Kinoshita rests his head in his hands, “Honestly dude, maybe."

“Wait, really?” Ennoshita only really expected no as an answer. 

“I mean think about it,” Kinoshita makes some weird hand gesture. “We honestly don’t know what Tanaka’s sexuality is. Sure he has a massive crush on Kiyoko and has a few posters of girls in his room, but he’s never explicitly told us he’s only interested in girls.” Narita nods in agreement as he takes a bite of his sandwich.

Ennoshita had never really thought of it that way. They weren’t exactly wrong either, all they really knew was that Tanaka liked Kiyoko and had a few posters of women on his walls. Tanaka never shied away from talking about guys he thought were good looking either, but Ennoshita simply saw it as admiration rather than actual attraction.

“I think you should at least try Chikara.” Kinoshita’s words pull him out of his thoughts. “I mean how’s that phrase go? You miss one hundred percent of the sets you don’t spike?”

“I don’t think it’s a volleyball-related quote, Hisashi,” Narita interjects.

“Oh well, you get what I mean. All I’m saying is you should give it a shot man, what’s the worst that could happen?” Kinoshita shoots him a smirk before finishing his lunch.

“The worst that could happen is he’s absolutely disgusted by the thought and ends up hating me.” Ennoshita deadpans. 

“Seriously Chikara?” Kinoshita sits up straight, “This is you we’re talking about here. You’re one of his closest friends, man, there’s no way he’d just up and leave if you confessed to him. I mean sure he’s kind of a dunce, but he’s not heartless.” He starts fiddling with a plastic wrapper on the table.

“I know I know,” Ennoshita gives, “I just don’t want to mess up what we have right now. It’s nice being able to just talk normally with everyone and I feel like confessing would change a lot.” Ennoshita pokes at the second siopao in his box.

“You got a point, Chikara, but I think you’d regret keeping how you feel a secret from him,” Narita says after swallowing a bite of his sandwich. “And even if things got a little weird after I think it’d all settle down eventually.” 

Ennoshita leans back in his chair, sighing for the who-knows time today. “You’re probably right,” he laments, “but I think I’ll just let this pass. It’s just a little crush, that’s all.” 

“Hey hey what’s this? Chika-chan has a crush?” Ennoshita shoots straight up as Tanaka’s voice reaches his ears. He blushes upon registering what Tanaka had just called him, his cheeks and the tips of his ears receiving a dusting of pink. Tanaka sits in the empty seat next to Ennoshita and notices his flushed appearance. “You good there Chikara? You’re not sick are you?” Tanaka reaches his hand out to feel his forehead but Ennoshita quickly swats his hand away as nicely as possible

“I’m fine Tanaka don’t worry. And stop using that nickname, it’s embarrassing.” He sets his gaze back on his lunch. ‘ _It’s probably cold by now,’_ he thinks. Still, he picks up the bun and begins eating.

“Just a little crush, huh?” Kinoshita teases from across the table. Ennoshita shoots him a glare and kicks him under the table while Tanaka is busy chatting with Nishinoya. “Hey, rude!” Kinoshita yelps, now rubbing his shin.

“Sorry did you say something?” Ennoshita hits him with the deadpan once again, feigning complete cluelessness. Kinoshita sticks his tongue out at him, earning a slight chuckle from his attacker.

‘ _Yeah, this sucks,’_ Ennoshita thinks as he takes another bite out of the cold bun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you've made it this far thank you for reading chapter 1 :) This is the first fic I've ever actually published so I hope you like it so far!


	2. At Least He Thinks I'm Cute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita really doesn't know what to do anymore.

Ennoshita made sure to honor the mental note he had made earlier, pointedly looking in any direction but Tanaka’s when he didn’t have to. His efforts made him realize how much he really did stare at Tanaka because at this point it felt unnatural to not have the brazen wing-spiker in his line of sight at any given moment. However he found himself able to concentrate more on his moves than he’s been able to for the past week or so. He was able to land more spikes and receive better without the intrusive thoughts that constantly bombarded his brain. However, after a particularly good save, Tanaka burst back into his thoughts.

“Nice save Chikara!” Tanaka ran up and jumped on his friend, ruffling his hair into a messy but cute, well, mess. Tanaka had always been generous with skinship, but after recent developments it became a dangerous weapon when used on Ennoshita. He really wasn’t so sure how much more he could take before his heart burst.

“Really Tanaka, the hair?” Ennoshita settled on pretending to be slightly perturbed in this situation. His hair was cut simply, sure, but getting it to how he liked it took a little more effort than he’d care to admit. 

“Oh come on, it’s just hair!” Tanaka says while Ennoshita attempts to tame the bird’s nest on his head. After hearing Tanaka’s comment Ennoshita stops fixing his hair to let out a little snicker.

“Please, like you’d know about hair” Ennoshita retorts, making no effort to hide the fact that he’s looking directly at Tanaka’s head. 

Tanaka gasped, “Oh you did not just go there. I’m hurt, Chikara.” He grabbed his chest and doubled over for dramatic effect. It’d be a lie to say Ennoshita didn’t find it cute, after all, his dramatic nature was one of his favorite things about him. But now wasn’t the time for cute, lest they want to be scolded for holding up practice. Ennoshita landed a gentle but firm chop on Tanaka’s head, resulting in a small grunt from the teen.

“Stop being dramatic and get back to your spot,” Ennoshita scolded. “I’d rather not get thrown a Daichi death-glare.” That got Tanaka to snap out of it, the boy’s eyes going blank and his shoulders stiffening. Without another word he got back into position. ‘ _Geeze, Daichi has some insane power,’_ Ennoshita thought as he glanced back at Tanaka who was getting ready to serve.

Ennoshita cherished moments like these, moments where he could joke with Tanaka and forget about his hopeless crush. He cherished the moments where it felt like it was just the two of them together, joking around and laughing or just simply being with each other. It was as if the world melted away with all its problems and only left them. It was these moments that would cause him to rethink his not-so-little crush and ask himself, ' _Would we still have moments like these if I confessed?_ ' Ennoshita let out a small sigh. He was scared: scared of losing his best friend, scared of losing these moments, scared of losing everything he’d built with Tanaka. If repressing preserved his friendship and continued to let him have these moments, he would push through the pain. Losing this sense of normalcy would hurt more than any rejection he could get.

Ennoshita shifted his focus back to their practice as his teammates on the other side of the net got in place, preparing to receive Tanaka’s serve. He scanned his current opponents, his eyes quickly landing on Daichi whose eyes were drilling into the backs of Tsukishima and Kageyama’s heads. Ennoshita reasoned they had probably started bickering about something trivial again. From behind him, he heard Tanaka breathe out a small breath. “Tanaka nice serve!” Ennoshita called out. He heard Tanaka's shoes squeak on the glossy gymnasium floor followed by the distinct sound of a volleyball making contact with the palm of a hand. The ball soared over the net and was bumped by Daichi. Another rally was now underway.

\-------

After practice the second years made their way to Tanaka’s house for a group study session. Tanaka and Nishinoya begged Ennoshita to help them study for the math test that was coming up, a subject that was neither of their strong suits. Ennoshita, of course, had agreed to their pleas with little resistance. Helping them study helped him study too so it was a win-win situation. Kinoshita and Narita came along too, saying that they could use some extra study time. He was glad both Nishinoya and Tanaka had asked for his help studying, and that Kinoshita and Narita were tagging along, as just the thought of being alone with Tanaka made him nervous. 

A lively conversation was taking place about the Cars movie, but Ennoshita decided instead to get lost in his own thoughts. His eyes swept across the barely lit landscape as he replayed the conversation that he, Kinoshita, and Narita had at lunch. He knew that holding in his feelings for Tanaka wasn’t ideal in any sense of the word, but it was the safest possible option. Sure there was at least a chance for his feelings to be returned, but the likelihood of that was little to none. Tanaka was so obsessed with Kiyoko it was scary and just the thought of him liking someone else, let alone Ennoshita, was ridiculous. It was eating him up inside, not knowing what to do with his feelings. Obviously he’d support Tanaka if he chose to get in a relationship with someone else, but what he wasn’t sure about was whether or not _he_ could handle it. Sure it's scary to think he likes someone else, but not knowing where their friendship would stand if he confessed was ten times worse. ' _Would he still hang out with me?'_ This question plagued Ennoshita’s mind.

“What do you think, Chikara?” Ennoshita was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of his name. He shifted his gaze to the owner of the voice, Nishinoya was staring at him with curiosity. Tanaka seemed to be curious about his answer too, but his face had a noticeable amount of irritation on it. 

“Sorry, what was the question? I wasn’t listening.” Ennoshita really wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know. The two constantly had discussions about the dumbest possible things, a notable one focused on whether cereal was a soup or not. 

“Okay so you know how in Cars 2 there’s a pope car?” The second this question left Nishinoya’s mouth, Ennoshita regretted his decision to ask. Nishinoya continued, “So that implies that some of the cars are catholic and that Jesus exists in the Cars universe. But like, what kind of car was Jesus?” 

Tanaka interjected before Ennoshita had a chance to respond, “I said that Jesus was a wheel, but Noya here says that he’s a wagon.” He looked very smug in his answer despite how dumb this conversation sounded. 

“A wheel isn’t even a mode of transport Ryuu!” Now it was Nishinoya’s turn to get a little irritated.

“I think,” Ennoshita began, immediately pulling the attention of the bickering two. “I think that if you keep thinking about stupid stuff like this you’ll fail your tests.” At this Tanaka and Nishinoya deflated, but they weren't surprised.

"C'mon Chikara, loosen up a little and have some fun for once.” Tanaka playfully slapped Ennoshita’s back resulting in a small grunt.

Ennoshita turned and looked at Tanaka dead on, “I’ll loosen up when you get more than a 58 on a test.” 

“Chikara you promised you wouldn’t talk about that.” Tanaka spoke softly through tightly clamped teeth.

“Study hard tonight and I’ll erase it from my memory,” Ennoshita teased. Tanaka gave little more than a huff in response, silently admitting his defeat. Almost on queue, Tanaka’s house appeared in the distance. 

\-------

They’d been at it for almost three hours now. It was almost ten o’clock, Ennoshita and Tanaka being the only ones left in the living room. Tanaka was still struggling with his work and asked Ennoshita to stay just a little longer. Nishinoya had left about thirty minutes ago after Ennoshita had gone over his work. Having only gotten one answer incorrect, Ennoshita quickly explained how to do it before allowing Nishinoya to leave if he needed to. Kinoshita and Narita left within minutes of Nishinoya, both of them sending Ennoshita smirks as they closed the door on their way out. Ennoshita mouthed a quick ‘fuck you’ to his friends before they disappeared into the night. Now, it was just him and Tanaka.

Tanaka let out a groan of frustration and dropped his head onto the table. “Chikara, why is school so hard?” asked, dragging out his friend’s name. Ennoshita could feel the tiny vibrations caused by Tanaka talking into the wood.

“It’s not that hard Tanaka, c’mon finish that problem you’re almost done.” Ennoshita had finished his work long ago and now found himself scrolling through instagram; he’d stumbled across a page that posted delicious looking food from restaurants in Tokyo. This also doubled as a preventative measure against his staring problem. 

“Hey Chikara,” Tanaka put down his pencil and eyed his friend sitting across the table. Ennoshita looked up and met Tanaka’s gaze, curiosity evident in his eyes. “What’s your idea of a perfect date?”

Ennoshita’s eyes widened just a little. He froze for a second, replaying the question Tanaka had just asked him to make sure he heard him correctly. Of all the questions Tanaka had asked him in the past, even the dumb ones, none of them have left him like this. It felt like someone had thrown a cup of ice water at his face; Ennoshita was wide awake. “Why’re you asking me that?” His voice came out a little too shaky for his liking. 

Tanaka sat up confidently, a smug grin appearing on his face. “I’m planning on asking someone out on a date after our test!” His voice was noticeably deeper when he said this, a tactic he used to look cool. “However,” his voice was back to normal, “I’m not exactly the best at planning and I could really use your help.” He looked up at Ennoshita, his eyes practically screaming ‘please’. 

“Ugh fine, stop making that face. You look like I just kicked a puppy.” Ennoshita couldn’t resist Tanaka’s pleading face. Even if helping would go against everything he wanted, he wanted Tanaka to be happy, whether it be with him or someone else.

“Hey hey, now we’re talking!” Tanaka shot straight up, any trace of his pleading face masked by his giant smile. “Now then,” Tanaka leaned in, “ what would be your perfect date?”

‘ _Anywhere with you,’_ is what he wanted to say, but he knew that could never happen. Ennoshita put down his phone and prodded his brain for some ideas. “For me it’d be watching a movie,” Ennoshita glanced at Tanaka to see his reaction. “But not in a movie theatre, that’s so boring. I want to lay out on a nice soft blanket with a projector under the stars. Yeah, that’d be nice.” His heart was practically halfway to Tokyo by the time he finished. He looked back up at Tanaka, studying the changes in his face, memorizing every detail like it was the last time he’d ever see his face. Out of nowhere, Tanaka’s face was distorted with laughter. “Oh god, I was rambling wasn’t I?” Ennoshita’s face was redder than ever, rivaling the hue of Nekoma’s uniform. Did he really just say all that?

Tanaka calmed down a few seconds later. “No no, you’re fine Chikara,” Tanaka said, wiping the tears that formed in the corners of his eyes. “It was kinda cute seeing you daydream like that. Thanks for the idea, Chikara.” 

“No problem Tanaka. Now, finish your damn work.” He tried looking stern while saying this, but the smile that crept its way onto his face made it impossible. _‘At least he thinks I’m cute,_ ’ he thought. A slight blush garnished his face once again as he repeated that line in his head: _‘It was kinda cute seeing you daydream like that._ ’ 

Ennoshita returned his focus to his phone while Tanaka finished up his work. It was almost eleven when Ennoshita finally left the Tanaka household, that same line still playing in his head like a sort of mantra until he made it home. His parents were already asleep so he made his way silently to his room. He slipped out of his uniform and face planted into his bed, letting out a heavy sigh.

‘ _Yeah, this sucks,’_ he thought once again as sleep slowly overtook his body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A A A A sorry this is being uploaded a lot later than I wanted :/ but there she is!! I hope you like the story so far! I'll admit its pretty cheesy but that's what I love!


	3. Support System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would Ennoshita do without his friends?

The next day, Ennoshita could do little to shake the feeling of jealousy he had knowing Tanaka would be asking out someone at the end of the week. He was too distracted last night to really let the reality of it all sink in; Tanaka was going to ask someone out on a date, and that someone was not him. It really didn’t help that whoever he was planning on asking, they would be going on _his_ dream date. Ennoshita cursed his past self, wishing he’d made up some cliche date idea that he’d hate going on. His dreams were the only consolation he had in this mess of emotions, and he’d given one of them away. Sure it was selfish to think this way, but when it came to Tanaka, Ennoshita wanted to be selfish. 

He let out a long sigh as his alarm rang for the third time, yelling at him to get up and get his ass to morning practice. He silenced his alarm and begrudgingly got up, dragging his still clothed body to the bathroom. He took his usual morning shower and washed his face, scrubbing away the dirt that had accumulated on him during the night. After he’d fixed his hair he made his way to the kitchen, deciding to make himself a cup of coffee to try and get him through the day. Ennoshita rarely drank coffee, favoring tea, or sweet drinks over the bitter, dark brown liquid. However, today was one of those rare exceptions. 

Despite immediately crashing the second he plopped onto his bed the night before, his sleep was hardly peaceful. His dreams were filled to the brim with endless scenarios featuring one particular excitable, bald-headed teen being as cute as ever. Even though the scenes were all in his head, he’d been exhausted nonetheless. The fact that he woke up before his alarm didn’t help his case either. 

After downing his coffee and slowly eating a muffin, Ennoshita returned to the bathroom to brush his teeth and fix up his sleep-wrecked uniform. He looked over himself in the mirror, taking it all in and sighing. “What do they have that I don’t?” Ennoshita asked his reflection. He didn’t know a single thing about Tanaka’s crush, but he already knew what he was lacking in comparison: everything. He was so plain looking, not ugly, just plain. He always looked tired because of his downturned eyes, often making him look uninterested in the conversation. His body wasn’t perfectly sculpted like an Olympian god and he wasn’t the strongest player either. He was just boring; plain, boring Ennoshita. 

He was brought back down from his thoughts when his phone vibrated and lit up, another alarm screaming at him to get going or risk being late to morning practice. Sighing for the third time this morning, Ennoshita glanced at his reflection once more before grabbing his belongings and heading out the door.

About halfway through his journey to school Ennoshita felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He retrieved his device and noticed he’d received a message from Tanaka.

**[Tanaka <3]: **

**chikaraaaa help meee idk what gift to give my date (~ >_<)~**

Ennoshita’s heart sank a little. No ‘good morning,’ no ‘how are you chikara?’ just straight to the subject that was plaguing his brain and eating him up inside. Still, he had to respond. No matter how he felt, he wanted Tanaka’s date to go well. 

**:[Chikara]**

**good morning to you too tanaka** **(눈_눈)**

**:[Chikara]**

**and i cant help you if i dont know who ur asking**

**[Tanaka <3]:**

**that information is top secret chika-chan (･ω <)☆**

**[Tanaka <3]: **

**i can tell you that they really like sweets tho hehe**

**:[Chikara]**

**just get them some nice chocolates then dummy**

Ennoshita would’ve suggested chocolate covered strawberries, but he wasn’t about to give another dream of his away. He’d always imagined Tanaka giving him a box of chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s day, leaving them both be a blushing mess. They’d sneak away to the far end of campus and share the box, snuggled up against each other under an old tree-

**[Tanaka <3]: **

**THAT GAVE ME A GREAT IDEA!! (✧ω✧)**

**[Tanaka <3]: **

**ILL GET THEM CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES!!**

**[Tanaka <3]: **

**thank you chika-chan ur the best (ﾉ´ з `)ノ**

At this point Ennoshita was sure he was cursed or something. The universe was working against him and wanted to ensure that he didn’t get to have his dreams. How did he know? Because there was no other explanation for what just happened. Maybe he should spread some salt around his room tomorrow to ward off whatever evil spirit was haunting him.

**:[Chikara]**

**glad i could help**

**:[Chikara]**

**and i told you to STOP CALLING ME THAT >:(**

Ennoshita huffed, stuffing his phone back into his pocket with a little more force than necessary. God how he wished he didn’t have to be dragged into this. Just knowing Tanaka was going on a date with someone stung enough, but having to plan Tanaka’s date with his crush? That was too much. After yet another sigh, Ennoshita rounded the corner, entering the Karasuno campus and walking languidly towards the club room. 

\-------

At lunch Tanaka was uncharacteristically absent from their usual group of five, leaving the four remaining second years to chat amongst themselves at a normal volume for once. Kinoshita was talking to Narita about the cool aquarium that he’d found online last night while they were studying, suggesting that they should all go there the saturday after the test to unwind. To his left Nishinoya was engulfing his lunch, only stopping momentarily to breathe every now and then. During one of these brief eating intermissions Ennoshita asked the question that was weighing heavy on his mind.

“Hey Noya, do you know who Tanaka’s asking out on a date?” Ennoshita was prepared for an answer, but what he wasn’t prepared for was the deafening, “WHAT?” that escaped from Nishinoya’s mouth and ricocheted off the walls of their classroom. Ennoshita was quick to cover Noya’s mouth, muttering apologies to his classmates who were now glaring daggers at their small group. 

“Okay...I’m guessing Tanaka hasn’t told you anything about that then,” Ennoshita said as he removed his hand from Nishinoya’s face. He was shocked to say the least. The fact that _he_ knew Tanaka was planning on asking someone out and Tanaka’s ‘best bro’ didn’t was something he’d have never imagined. Usually, Noya would be the first to know any important news and then it would be disseminated to the rest of their group, eventually making its way to the whole volleyball team.

“No, he did not.” Nishinoya was pouting, his arms crossed and his eyes slightly downcast indicating how betrayed he felt. But didn’t stay like that for long, his face quickly turning into one of excitement. “But that’s really cool though! My little Ryuu’s all grown up.” Nishinoya pretended to wipe away tears as he said this, gaining an eye roll from Ennoshita.

Ennoshita turned to Kinoshita and Narita, “Did he not tell you guys either?”

“Nope,” Kinoshita stated simply. “First time we’re hearing about it too.”

“I don’t get why he’s being so secretive about it,” Ennoshita sighed. “He won’t tell me who he’s asking out but he keeps asking me for suggestions on what to do and bring.” He heard Kinoshita let out a small hiss in response.

“God that’s gotta suck, I’m sorry man.” Narita voiced what he knew Kinoshita was thinking. “We know how much you like Ta-” Narita quickly cut himself off, forgetting that Nishinoya was present for this conversation.

Ennoshita whirled his head to face Noya, watching his eyes and smile grow wider and brighter every second. He slapped his hand over Noya’s mouth, the question “YOU LIKE RYUU?!” being muffled by his hand. Ennoshita held up a finger to his mouth, a soft “shh” being directed towards his friend. Nishinoya nodded in response, understanding the situation quite quickly. Ennoshita slowly removed his hand from Noya’s mouth so that he could speak again.

Without missing a beat Nishinoya bombarded Ennoshita with questions, ranging from the basic “When did you start liking him?” and “Why didn’t you tell me?” to the more thought heavy “Are you going to tell him?” and “Do you think he likes you back?”

Ennoshita decided to only respond to one of his friend’s questions. “No Noya, I’m not going to tell Tanaka,” he said with a tinge of sadness. 

“But whyyy?” Nishinoya deflated on the desk.

“I don’t want to get in the way of his date,” Ennoshita responded simply. “Besides, Tanaka’s probably straight anyways. I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”

“Hmmmm” was the only response Nishinoya gave, a frown forming on his face.

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out like Hisashi and Kazuhito did,” Ennoshita teased.

“Probably because he’s too busy ogling at Asahi,” Kinoshita smartly added. This sent Noya into a frenzy that could only be described as adorable. Any words he was forming were completely incoherent and he was a blushing mess. After about twenty seconds of flailing around like one of those things outside of a car dealership, he deflated onto the desk once again. 

“Am I that obvious?” Noya asked, glancing up at his friends. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita responded in unison with a resounding “yep” sending Noya into a groaning fit. After he was done, he quickly steered the discussion back to the topic of Ennoshita and Tanaka, getting the former to answer the questions he had bombarded him with earlier.

“Hey speaking of Tanaka,” Narita cut in, “do you know where he is? He almost never misses lunch.”

Noya perked up. “He told me he had to go get something from the film club or something. Weird right?” Ennoshita tensed up a little, cringing at the comment. “What’s wrong Chikara?”

Ennoshita had lost count of the amount of times he’d sighed today, but he sighed nonetheless. “He’s probably asking the film club if they have a projector he can borrow,” he lamented. “It’s one of the things he needs for the date he’s planning.” The awkwardness at the table was now tangible, none of them knowing what to say or how to break the silence. 

After a pregnant pause, Kinoshita spoke up. “I’m guessing you’re the one who orchestrated that idea,” he carefully stated, shifting in his seat a little.

“Yeah,” Ennoshita exhaled. “It’s gonna sound selfish but I wish I gave him a crappier date, but only because that was _my_ dream date.” Ennoshita lowered his gaze, fiddling with the wrapper in his hands. “It sucks knowing your crush is going to take someone else out on the date of your dreams.”

Noya chuckled. “If it makes you feel better, I’m sure Ryuu will find some way to royally fuck it up.” A small smile crept its way onto Ennoshita’s face.

“Not funny Noya. You’re probably right, but not funny.” He was thankful that Nishinoya knew him well enough to know what relaxed him. Despite how loud and energetic he was, he had a calming effect on people. “I don’t want anything to go wrong for them. As long as Tanaka’s happy, I’ll be happy.”

“Ew, you’re being so sappy Chikara,” Kinoshita said as he pretended to gag. Ennoshita made sure to roll his eyes extra hard.

“Whatever. I know it’s sappy and cliche and all of that, but I mean it.” Ennoshita looked out the window, watching the tiny figures mill about. “I want Tanaka to be happy, even if he’s happy without me.” A frown slowly formed on Ennoshita’s face, his melancholy evident in his eyes.

“Hey Chikara we talked about this!” Nishinoya quickly wrapped his arm around Ennoshita’s neck, pulling him close and ruffling his hair a little. “No getting all mopey all the time! Besides, you’ll always have us by your side.” Noya’s face softened, telling Ennoshita that everything would be okay. He heard Kinoshita and Narita agree, restating what Noya had just said. 

‘ _How did I end up with such good friends?_ ’ Ennoshita thought, smiling into Noya’s uniform. Ennoshita pried himself out of the libero’s iron hold, sitting up and turning towards the whole group. “Thanks guys, it really means a lot.” Ennoshita relaxed in his seat, all his pent up stress having been released during Nishinoya’s choke hold. “And jeez Noya what is with you and Tanaka messing up my hair all the time?” He asked, fixing his hair in the reflection of the window. 

“What can I say?” Nishinoya shrugged, “Your hair is just fun to mess up, especially knowing the ridiculous amount of time you spend styling it in the morning.” 

“You’re lucky I love you, Noya,” Ennoshita grumbled, still trying to tame the mess on his head. In the distance he saw the subject of their discussion slowly making his way back to the main building. Tanaka was lugging an old projector along with him, the power cable dragging on the ground as he advanced. ‘ _Guess his mission was a success,_ ’ Ennoshita mused, returning the last piece of his hair to its correct place. Another sigh escaped his nostrils as Tanaka disappeared into the building, intent on returning to his friends. 

‘ _Yeah, this sucks,_ ’ Ennoshita thought, returning his attention to his friends still sitting beside him, ‘ _But at least I have them._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i actually got this written and posted within roughly a week of my last update woohoo! This was originally going to just be a summary of the following 3 days leading up to the day of the test but I ended up writing a LOT so this is only one day lol! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!! ik it's not the greatest but I really like how it's going :) I'm going to try and get the next chapter up this week but idk i have some hefty assignments due soon :// 
> 
> also i now have a surprise for the end hehe (those who know me from twitter u know what it is lol) but im really determined to wrap this up now! welp, until next time!!


	4. Overthinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ennoshita tends to think a lot. Sometimes a little too much.

It was Wednesday night when Ennoshita had realized that things had been oddly...quiet. Normally a calm period before a major test was welcome. However, Ennoshita felt an extreme sense of unease, especially because _he_ was the source of the silence. 

Ennoshita’s nights were always full of texts from Tanaka begging for his answers to their homework. Oftentimes Tanaka wouldn’t even wait until they had gotten home, asking if he could “take a peek” at his work while half-naked in the club room after practice. And as much as Ennoshita shamed him, telling him to do his own work, he’d always give in. He'd be lying to himself if he said he didn’t do it just to hear Tanaka say “I love you Chikara!” along with other comments that he’d wish were more than platonic. 

But like on Tuesday night, tonight there was no sign of Tanaka: no begging, no pleading puppy eyes, and no endless stream of messages that sent Ennoshita’s phone into a vibrating frenzy, just silence. On Tuesday he’d just assumed that Tanaka was too tired to care and fell asleep when he got home. However, to have this continue on for a second consecutive day worried him. Sure it slightly annoyed Ennoshita to have to dig out all his work and send pictures of it to Tanaka, knowing fully well that he was learning nothing, but he’d rather be annoyed than be feeling what he felt right now. This sudden break of habit made Ennoshita’s thoughts run wild.

‘ _Did he find another person to bother?’_ Ennoshita unintentionally prodded his brain further. ‘ _Was I too mean with the teasing? Did I say something that made him mad?_ ’ Ennoshita shook that thought away. Tanaka was still talking with him so he couldn’t be mad, right? But then it hit him. 

‘ _Did he figure it out?’_

Ennoshita sat up in his bed, replaying the past two days in his head. He noticed that Tanaka had been slightly quieter than usual, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it. Ennoshita just brushed it off as him thinking about either the upcoming test or his date. But what he should’ve paid more attention to were the not-so-subtle stares that Tanaka sent his way during practice. To anyone else, they’d just be seen as blank stares and nothing more. But Ennoshita knew that look, that look that would grace the hot-tempered teen’s face when he was focused on a hard problem. Tanaka was thinking, _hard_ , and whatever he was thinking about was frustrating him.

Ennoshita laid back and flipped onto his stomach, his face now buried in his pillow. He let out a long “fuck”, stretching out every syllable as if it would take not only his breath away, but also his slowly mounting fear. He needed reassurance, something that would tell him he’s just overthinking all of this and that his friendship with Tanaka was fine. With his face still planted firmly in his pillow, Ennoshita felt around his bed until his hand landed on his phone. He pulled the device close, propping himself on his elbows and going directly to his messages with Tanaka. The clock on his phone read 20:49, ‘ _There’s no way he’s asleep yet_.’

**:[Chikara]**

**im surprised you havent asked me for any work these last 2 days**

**:[Chikara]**

**you sure u dont need help?**

A minute passed with no reply.

Then two.

Then ten.

After twenty minutes Ennoshita was ready to explode, his eyes glued to the screen where it said “delivered” underneath his last message. He locked his phone and tossed it aside, collapsing face-first into his pillow. Tanaka rarely went to sleep this early and he always responded to his texts even if it was two in the morning. A buzz jolted Ennoshita, his head whipping around in the direction of his phone which lay at the foot of his bed. He practically pounced at the device, unlocking it in record time.

**[Tanaka]:**

**im good, thanks chikara :)**

“That’s it?” Ennoshita verbalized his frustration. Ennoshita knew Tanaka, probably better than he knew himself, and this was not normal. Tanaka was notorious for responding in the most obnoxious way possible, always finding a way to slide in a sly remark or some weird emoji. But this? He’d never received a response from Tanaka like this before. It was so short and was void of any exclamation marks or words in all-caps. 

Tanaka’s response did little to ease Ennoshita’s worries. Instead, it gave his brain more of a reason to believe that Tanaka had indeed figured him out. His thoughts ate away at him for the rest of the night, his heart aching every time he thought about how Tanaka might slowly start avoiding him if he did actually realize Ennoshita’s feelings. 

‘ _There’s no way Tanaka would leave just because of this, right? We’ll always be friends, right? There’s no way he hates me, right? Right? Ri-_ ’

Ennoshita’s alarm went off, causing the boy to jump a little bit. With heavy eyes he read the clock on the table next to his bed, the slow-moving hands indicating that it was 5:30 and time to start the day. He’d barely gotten any sleep, his thoughts keeping his mind awake and alert. Ennoshita groaned, reaching for his phone to snooze the alarm, ‘ _Just fifteen more minutes._ ’ Turning onto his side he shut his eyes, attempting to recover as much energy as he could before he had to inevitably leave for morning practice. 

Surprisingly, Ennoshita was able to push aside his thoughts, knocking out almost immediately after his eyelids had shut. His blissful sleep didn’t last though, his alarm pulling him back to consciousness after what seemed more like fifteen seconds rather than fifteen minutes. His hand searched for his phone, tapping the screen to silence the cheerful tune that played. Ennoshita threw the covers off of him and shuffled to the bathroom.

After splashing some cold water on his face to wake him up, Ennoshita looked himself over in the mirror. He looked like shit, and that was putting it nicely. He was much paler than usual, almost sickly, and dark eye bags accompanied his reddened eyes. Even after all-nighters he’d never looked this bad. Accepting his ghost-like appearance, Ennoshita continued on with his morning routine, dragging his body into the shower and downstairs to make a quick breakfast. He then lugged his form back upstairs to get into his uniform and grab his things.

Ennoshita was out the door by 6:30.

\-------

“What the hell happened to you?” Kinoshita wasted no time pointing out his friend’s deathly appearance.

“Good morning to you too, Hisashi,” Ennoshita responded. “And my brain happened to me. Please tell me you’re going to be a surgeon after we graduate, I want a brain that won’t constantly overthink everything.” Ennoshita was gripping onto the door of his locker for support, fatigue still not fully resolved. 

“What’s eating at you now, Chikara?” Kinoshita was done getting dressed at this point and was now leaning on his locker, eyeing Ennoshita with a hint of curiosity. It was just them in the club room, the others were already in the gym about to start practice.

Ennoshita let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I think Tanaka figured it out. Ya’know, that I like him?” 

“What makes you think that?” Kinoshita’s face had hardened a little, sensing that Ennoshita was very much serious. 

“He’s been staring at me during practice lately like he’s trying to analyze me or something.” Ennoshita slipped his practice uniform on before continuing. “And lately he’s been a lot less hot-headed. He even stopped asking for my work which is so weird to me. I even texted him asking if he needed help and he sent me back a really short response saying no. No teasing, no over-dramatic emojis, nothing like Tanaka would usually send.” Ennoshita flopped onto the floor, lacing up his shoes. “The only thing that I could think of that would cause this is that he found out and he doesn’t like it.” 

He didn’t get up after he was done tying his shoes. Ennoshita sat on the floor, lost in the sea of thoughts that flooded his brain. Silence engulfed the two teens, neither knowing how to continue the conversation. A solid minute of silence passed before Kinoshita decided to make the first move.

"Hey," Kinoshita stuck out his hand, "Like Noya said, no getting all mopey." Ennoshita looked up at his friend a little shocked. Kinoshita shook his hand a little bit, signaling the other to take hold of his hand. Ennoshita complied and Kinoshita pulled the teen onto his feet. “He’s not gone yet, Chikara. Talk. To. Him.” 

A soft smile appeared on Ennoshita’s face. “How do you always know what to say?”

“Probably ‘cause I’m a genius,” Kinoshita smirked.

Ennoshita let out a little hum in response. “We should get to practice,” Ennoshita began walking towards the door. “I’d rather not get yelled at this early in the morning.”

Kinoshita let out a sigh. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Let’s go.”

The two boys left the club room, turning off the light on their way out. 

\-------

As soon as they were dismissed for lunch Ennoshita made a beeline for Tanaka’s desk. Tanaka was asleep with a book in front of his face in an attempt to make it look like he was reading along with the class. Ennoshita took the book and slipped it into the sleeping teen’s bag and admired his cute, flattened expression.

“Oi, Tanaka,” Ennoshita poked at Tanaka’s cheek. “Time to wake up, it’s lunch already.” Tanaka let out a series of grumbles in response and turned his face onto the desk to block out the light coming in through the window. 

‘ _I gotta pull out the big guns, huh?_ ’ Ennoshita cleared his throat for effect, “Hey Hisashi, you want my melonpan? I was gonna give it to Tanaka but he won’t wake up.” That did the trick. In an instant Tanaka was up, eyes wide and sparkling, any traces of him being asleep a few minutes prior were gone in an instant. 

“I’m up! I’m up! Can I still have it? Please Chikara?” Tanaka looked like a dog right before being fed and Ennoshita could barely handle it.

“Yeah yeah, you can have it,” Ennoshita chuckled. “But first...can we talk? Alone preferably.” He could feel himself grow more anxious as the words left his mouth.

“Of course man! Lead the way.”

Ennoshita led Tanaka to the far side of campus where not that many people were. He stopped in front of a vending machine. “So,” Tanaka made sure to draw out the word, “What'd ya wanna talk about?” Tanaka leaned against a pole next to him, keeping his gaze fixed on Ennoshita.

Ennoshita let out a shaky breath. “I just...wanted to make sure everything’s okay, ya know? With us?” His eyes met Tanaka’s and attempted to read his thoughts. 

Tanaka’s expression sank a little. “Hey hey, what do you mean Chikara? Did I do something to you?” His voice was filled with worry now. “You can tell me anything man.”

“It’s just that-,” Ennoshita hesitated. “It’s just you’ve been kinda quiet lately. You don’t joke around as much with me during practice and you haven’t been texting me either.” He bit his lip, “You’ve been staring at me during practice with a weird face too. I figured you were mad at me.” Ennoshita’s voice trailed off at the end.

“Now what would I ever be mad at you for?” Tanaka moved closer to Ennoshita and sandwiched his face between his hands. “I’m not mad at you Chikara. I can’t think of any circumstance where I would be either.” With that Tanaka let go of Ennoshita’s face, the latter turning away lightly to hide the blush that was slowly rising on his face. “I’m sorry for not talking to you as much man. I’ve been really busy studying and planning my date; I want it to be perfect.” Ennoshita let out a small chuckle. “What?”

“You? _The_ Tanaka Ryuunosuke? Studying?!” Ennoshita’s words oozed with sarcasm. 

“Hey I really am! That’s why I haven’t been answering your texts as much lately.” Tanaka gestured to the rectangular lump in his pocket. “I’ve been turning my phone off while I work so I don’t get distracted as easily. Plus if I want to be as smart as my date I gotta start grinding!” 

Ennoshita grinned a bit. “You surprise me more and more every day, Ryuunosuke.” He turned around and eyed the various drinks within the vending machine. Once he spotted his drink of choice he inserted the appropriate amount of money and pressed the button. Ennoshita crouched down in preparation for the can being dispensed. “Wait,” Ennoshita had almost forgotten. “What about all the staring?” He looked up at Tanaka from his squatting position. ‘ _Is he blushing?_ ’

“Ah well,” Tanaka was now avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t even realize I was doing that to be honest.” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s probably because I’ve been kinda stressed lately and you...you make me feel at ease, Chikara.” Tanaka was as red as humanly possible now and Ennoshita felt his face heat up as well.

“O-Oh,” was all Ennoshita could say.

The two sat awkwardly in silence for a few minutes, Ennoshita sipping his drink while Tanaka observed their surroundings. After he’d downed the last gulp from his can Ennoshita broke the silence. “W-We should get back to the others now. They’re probably wondering where we are.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Tanaka said quietly.

The two walked back in silence, but it wasn’t as awkward as before. Tanaka observed the people they passed while Ennoshita fiddled with the earbuds in his pocket. Now that the thoughts of Tanaka hating and being disgusted by him were out, thoughts about Tanaka’s fast approaching date quickly came back in. He glanced at the man of his thoughts out of the corners of his eyes, taking in his rough beauty as the sun beaded down on them. ‘ _Whoever they are, they’re lucky alright._ ’ He returned his focus to the ground, thoughts still whizzing through his brain. 

‘ _Yeah, this suc-_ ’

“Hey,” Tanaka cut off his train of thought, “I know that face anywhere, Chikara. Stop thinking so much, I’ll always be here for you, okay?” He sent a playful punch Ennoshita’s way, knocking him to the side just a little. 

Ennoshita’s face softened at the words. “Yeah, okay.”

‘ _Okay, but this still sucks._ ’ Ennoshita couldn’t deny that fact. ‘ _But,’_ he countered his own thought, ‘ _if Tanaka’s still with me, how bad could it be?_ ’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i write this instead of doing my missing assignments??? absolutely. do i regret it??? nope! idk how i feel abt this chapter and even considered scrapping it BUT its here anyways akakaka. i hope yall liked it! next update is gonna be the last chapter WOOHOO!! im surprised i actually followed through with this lolol. ive always had ideas and have even written some short drabbles but ive never actually seriously written and posted anything and it feels really good! welp, see yall later!


	5. Perfection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS IS LIKE. 2 MONTHS LATE OHHHH MY GOD. I'm sorry yall school work started piling up at the end of may and during june too and after that I just kinda needed a break and I couldn't really write anything :/ BUT WE'RE BACK NOW BABY WITH THE FINAL CHAPTER THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE I LOVE YALL MWAHHH!!!

Ennoshita didn’t want to get up today. He wished that he could skip today entirely and just stay in bed, wrapped up in a blanket watching the minutes tick by. However, at the same time, he didn’t want this day to be over, or for it to even progress at all. He knew what was coming; it was inevitable. 

Ennoshita followed his normal routine, his thoughts surprisingly empty for once. The reality of the situation had set in a while ago, but actually starting to live it made it all feel like a dream. He moved about his room lazily, packing up the books and notes that lay scattered across his floor from the night before. He hadn’t gotten as much studying done as he’d liked but was confident in himself nonetheless. 

He made his way downstairs after all his things were packed in his bag. He made himself a cup of tea to go along with his breakfast in an effort to calm his nerves before today’s test.

“Heh, I practically have two tests today,” Ennoshita spoke to his breakfast. He was certain that the hardest part about today wasn’t going to be the test, but seeing Tanaka stand up and leave to go ask out someone on a date. “Why did I have to fall for him?” Ennoshita sighed into his tea.

He perked up a little as he heard soft footsteps coming from the stairs. A few moments later his mother emerged and made her way to the kitchen. “Good morning Chikara,” His mother said as she passed by him. 

“G’morning,” Ennoshita responded sleepily. 

“How was your study session last night? Ready for your test today?” His mother was focused on preparing her morning coffee.

“It went pretty well,” he responded after another sip of tea. “I think I’ll do fine.” That’s what Ennoshita hoped anyways. He’d gone over the content several times last night to try and make sure he knew everything that could possibly be on the test. The only thing worrying him now was that damn date. Yes, he’d studied his ass off, but that wouldn’t mean anything if he couldn’t concentrate. 

“Are you alright, Chikara?” His mother had sat down at the other end of the table, unnoticed by him until she had spoken. Her brows were laced with worry. “You’re not putting too much stress on yourself again, are you?”

Ennoshita let out a little laugh. “No, I’m fine. Just got some things on my mind, that’s all.”

His mother gave an unamused look before sighing and rolling her eyes. “Alright if you say so. I'll always be here if you need to talk though Chikara.”

“I know, thanks mom”

After he finished his breakfast, Ennoshita collected his things and made his way to school. 

Each step Ennoshita took felt labored. It was as if each step was sealing his fate, a fate that could never be changed no matter what. He looked around at the houses he was passing to try and distract his brain. His eyes landed on a cat that slept on the fence he was approaching, a few rays of morning sun striping the feline’s long body. As he approached the cat it stirred underneath the warmth of the sun. It began to stretch as he stopped in front of it. The cat noticed Ennoshita immediately once its eyes were open, retreating slightly. Ennoshita slowly lifted his hand towards the cat’s face in an attempt to gain its trust. The cat moved its head forward cautiously, sniffing the new-found appendage in front of it. After a few seconds, it accepted the offer and rubbed the side of its face against Ennoshita’s fingers. The corners of Ennoshita’s mouth curled up, a breath he didn’t know he was holding escaped through his nostrils. “Good morning to you too,” he said as the cat continued to rub its face on his hand. 

After a few minutes, Ennoshita continued on his way to school, leaving the cat with a single pat on the head. The cat helped; he felt a little better heading into what would no doubt be a hell of a day. Ennoshita weaved his way through town, the sun gradually illuminating the streets as it climbed its way into the sky. As he rounded a corner he noticed a certain libero was a few meters ahead of him, bouncily making his way to Karasuno High School. 

“Hey, Noya!” Ennoshita called out to the boy. Nishinoya’s head whipped around at the sound of his name, eyes lighting up once he registered who it was. He turned on his heels and made a mad dash for Ennoshita.

“Chikara!” Nishinoya was on him at this point, hands on Ennoshita’s shoulders as he propelled himself off the ground and into the air. He stopped after a few hops. “Mornin’!”

“Morning,” Ennoshita smirked a little, “You ready for that test?” He had to suppress a chuckle as Noya’s face turned sour as if he’d just bit into a lemon. 

“Don’t remind me, Chikara, just the thought alone gives me pain.”

The two boys continued their trip to school together, chatting here and there, but they also just enjoyed each other’s presence. Ennoshita would run into Noya on his way to school pretty often as he lived off one of the streets Ennoshita took to get to school. It always confused Ennoshita how Nishinoya could have so much energy in the morning, but he wasn’t complaining all that much. If anything, the tiny libero’s energy helped wake him up, as if his energy radiated off his body and seeped its way into Ennoshita. Just as Karasuno came into view, Noya spoke up.

“Hey Chikara,” his voice had a serious air to it. “You gonna be okay today? Y’know with the whole...y’know?” Nishinoya didn’t want to say it.

Ennoshita’s expression dropped a little, melancholy visible on his face. “Yeah, I’ll be fine Noya.” He turned his head to face his friend, “I’ll make it through today, don’t worry.” Nishinoya looked up at him with a fire in his eyes. “What’s that look fo-WAH! What the- Noya?” Ennoshita was wrapped in Noya’s arms, escape seemingly impossible.

“You seemed like you needed a hug,” Nishinoya looked up at Ennoshita, his face squished against his body. 

Ennoshita’s face softened at the explanation. “You know me too well,” Ennoshita returned the embrace. “I really did, thank you.”

“Any time, Chikara.” 

The two held the embrace only for a few seconds before mutually breaking contact. They finished the journey to Karasuno in silence and made their way to the club room. When they entered most of the team was already there, some getting dressed and some sitting on the floor. Daichi, Suga, and Asahi were chatting while getting changed, laughter imminent on Suga’s face as Daichi told a joke. Hinata and Kageyama were bickering as usual while Tsukishima and Yamaguchi sat against the wall. Ennoshita’s eyes then landed on Tanaka who was but a hunched-over-form in a chair. On the desk in front of him lay a math textbook along with his notebook and several pencils that were placed haphazardly. He was clearly absorbed in his work. That however didn’t stop Noya from giving tanaka the same greeting he’d given Ennoshita. 

“Hey- Noya get off!” Tanaka whined as Nishinoya jumped up and down. Ennoshita walked up to the two while they playfully bickered.

“It’s still hard to believe that you’re studying so much,” Ennoshita chuckled

“Heh well believe it Chikara!” Tanaka’s face was full of smugness. “In fact, I studied so hard that I bet I’ll get a better grade than you!” Ennoshita could hear a laugh escape the mouth of Tsukishima. “Oi! You wanna go, Tsukishima?!”

“Hey hey, Tanaka cool it.” Ennoshita wanted to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. “Come on get your stuff packed up and get dressed. Practice starts in less than ten minutes.” Ennoshita was about to turn away, but he felt like teasing Tanaka today. “Besides,” his face grew smug as he leaned towards Tanaka, “I won’t let you beat me that easily, no matter how much you studied.” Tanaka’s eyes widened before growing fierce and determined. ‘You’re on,’ they screamed.

After their battle was silently confirmed Ennoshita began to get dressed while Tanaka finished packing up. Once Tanaka was done he made his way to his locker next to Ennoshita’s. Tanaka took out a white box from his locker and placed it on the floor in front of him. Ennoshita slipped his shirt over his head and noticed the little white box on the floor. “What’s in the box?”

“Hoho excellent eye, Chikara!” Tanaka acted like Ennoshita just found a well-hidden object instead of one that was in plain sight. “Those are the chocolate-covered strawberries for my date tonight!”

“Oh,” Ennoshita almost forgot, “I see.”

Tanaka patted Ennoshita on the shoulder. “There there Chika-chan, do not fret. Because I’m such a good friend, I will give you the honor of having one.” Tanaka bent down and grabbed the box. He opened the flap and took out a nice big strawberry. “Now say ‘aah’ Chikaraaaa!” Tanaka slowly moved the strawberry towards Ennoshita’s mouth. 

Ennoshita looked around in panic. Most eyes were on them in curiosity; Noya even had a smirk on his face. He could feel his cheeks, ears, and neck getting hotter by the second. “Give me that!” Ennoshita snatched the strawberry from Tanaka's fingers and swiftly took a bite out of the chocolate-covered fruit. “God, you’re embarrassing.”

“But you still love me!” Tanaka poked at Ennoshita

“And every day I question why.” Ennoshita ignored the pain in his chest.

Tanaka clenched at his heart, “You wound me Chikara!”

“But you still love me,” Ennoshita snarkily added. Tanaka let out a small chuckle. 

The two got back to changing, both their minds thinking about the events that would transpire after the test. The smile that had grown on Ennoshita's face during their play fighting faded quickly. Why did Tanaka have to act like this? Why was it that every time he opened his mouth, Ennoshita fell more and more in love with him? Ennoshita had gotten used to the warmth that grew in his chest whenever he talked to Tanaka. But now, that warmth was tainted. 

“Alright everybody, let's get going!” Daichi yelled as he and the other third years made their way to the door. The first years got up and followed them along with Kinoshita and Narita. Ennoshita hurried to finish getting dressed, taking one last bite of the strawberry before placing it delicately in his locker. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Tanaka slip the box back into his locker with a satisfied smile, a smile he wished was for him. Ennoshita turned his attention back to the task at hand and pulled his practice shoes out of his bag. He made his way over to the chair Tanaka was in earlier and sat down, bending over to lace up his shoes. 

“Hurry up Chikara! I wanna hurry up and beat your ass in a match!” Tanaka was grinning at him from across the room, his body halfway out the door.

“Oh, is that so?” Ennoshita responded, throwing back a devilish smile. “I’m not gonna hold back then, Ryuunosuke.” He finished lacing up his shoes with a firm pull of the strings and stood up. He threw some of his belongings into his locker and closed it before making his way to the door. Nishinoya was already waiting for the both of them outside when Ennoshita exited the clubroom. 

The two of them began walking while Tanaka locked up the room, earning a “Hey, wait up!” from the boy. Nishinoya reached up and squeezed Ennoshita’s shoulder, a silent expression of sympathy and encouragement. Ennoshita’s eyes drooped, “I’ll be fine Noya, you don’t gotta worry about me. Promise.” Noya only gave a small smile in response.

“Rude! I wait for you like a true gentleman and you leave me behind?” Tanaka wiped a fake tear from his face, “I’m hurt Chikara.”

“Yeah well being a gentleman isn’t gonna make you win, now is it?” Messing with Tanaka was one of Ennoshita’s favorite pastimes. 

“Oh it’s on Chikara, it’s on.” There was a fire in Tanaka’s eyes now, a hunger even. God how he loved that look, especially when it was directed at him. 

The trio marched towards the gym as an air of determination engulfed them. 

The two of them got lost in their secret battle. While they both were paying attention to what was happening on the court, their main focus was on each other. Serve, receive, spike, block, and repeat. Ennoshita may not be the most skilled player on the court, but when he got fired up he couldn’t be overlooked. 

Sweat dripped from the ends of Ennoshita’s hair as he leaned down to grab his water bottle. After taking a few gulps he picked up his towel and wiped the sweat away as best he could. So far his team was just barely in the lead. They’d taken the first set, but the second one was well underway and they were neck and neck.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired already, Chikara,” Tanaka oozed as he leaned against the wall near Ennoshita. 

“In your dreams, Ryuunosuke,” Ennoshita countered. “I’m just getting started.”

In a few minutes, they were back at it. Serve, receive, spike, block, and repeat. It was a comforting cycle, full of familiarity, but also laced with anticipation and mystery. Who would be set to? Where would they aim? Would they do a dump? Did the ball land out of bounds? Ennoshita enjoyed these questions that constantly ran through his, and no doubt his teammate’s heads as they played. Analyzing the court and all its possible outcomes was his favorite part of the sport. 

Unfortunately, all that analysis didn’t win them the match. They just barely lost the second set and the third set was no different, if not worse. After the final whistle, Ennoshita made his way back to the spot where his water bottle sat, sinking down next to it against the wall. He tilted his head back, allowing his body to relax after all the work he’d just put it through. It wasn’t long before he heard the soft, high pitched squeaking of shoes coming towards him. 

“Yaknow, if you keep thinking like that I’m gonna leave you in the dust.” Ennoshita’s head shot up to look at Tanaka. “You did your best out there, Chikara. Hell, I haven’t seen you that intense in a while. Stop thinking every loss is your fault, ‘cause it’s not. You’re amazing, way more so than you give yourself credit for.” Tanaka wasn’t looking at him, his gaze focused on something far away. This was to Ennoshita’s benefit, however, as his face quickly turned red upon hearing Tanaka's last words. 

Tanaka quickly walked off after that, Ennoshita’s gaze following the boy as he went away to talk with the rest of the team. 

“Well that was...unexpected.” Narita appeared at Ennoshita’s side. “He read you like a book just from your expression. I didn’t think he was that observant.” 

Ennoshita let out a small sigh. “Yeah, it is kind of weird, isn’t it?” he said as his eyes lingered on Tanaka’s back. “He does things to make you think he’s dumb, but he’s actually pretty amazing.”

Narita slid down next to Ennoshita causing him to jump a little. “So...you’re really not gonna tell him?” 

“No, It’s not like it’s gonna change anything.”

“I don’t know Chikara,” Narita grinned a bit, “maybe it’d stop you from staring at him like he’s going to disappear.”

“Oh ha ha very funny Narita.” Ennoshita playfully nudged the boy with his shoulder.

“Still though. I think you should at least tell him, Chikara. If you don’t you’ll probably regret it someday.” He took a sip from his water bottle.

Ennoshita simply let out a hum before taking a sip himself. It had always been a thought, telling Tanaka he liked him, just to get it off his chest. However now it seemed like an even worse idea than he had always thought it to be. He didn’t want to ruin this for Tanaka, he deserved to be happy. 

The rest of the day went by in an odd way for Ennoshita. It was the same usual routine: read, take notes, answer questions, stare out the window for a little. However the day’s soon-to-be events had caused his sense of time to warp, placing him in an almost perpetual state. It felt as if time had stopped and gotten faster at the same time. Still though, time marched forward with little regard for the boy’s personal perception of it.

Soon enough it was time for their test. Ennoshita was on auto-pilot at this point, his mind nowhere near the topic of math, but still filled out the page with work and answers. He wasn’t exactly sure where his mind was at this point. His thoughts switched between thoughts of Tanaka on a date with a girl, Tanaka slowly growing distant from him, and scenarios of him confessing to Tanaka with less than stellar results. Ennoshita’s foot began to tap when he got to a problem that gave him some trouble, pulling him momentarily from his faraway thoughts. Once he had gotten over the hurdle though, it was right back into the endless pit of thoughts. 

‘ _I really wish I could just forget him sometimes, start fresh and forget everything that made me love him,_ ’ is what Ennoshita would often think, including now. Sure, it’d save him from all the emotions that he constantly felt and his inevitable heartbreak when Tanaka eventually got a girlfriend. However he knew that was almost as bad, because he knew he’d just fall for that stupid, shining smile all over again. 

Ennoshita finished up the final question and gently put down his pencil. A breath slowly escaped from his nostrils as he looked up at the clock at the front of the room. There were about twenty minutes left until school ended so he decided to catch up on a little sleep since he hadn’t gotten as much as he usually did last night. Ennoshita folded his arms on his desk and rested his head on its side. Not long after closing his eyes sleep swept over him.

His peace was only temporary though, as he was awoken by a flash followed by some soft snickering.

“I think you woke him up, Noya.”

“He’s gonna kill you if he sees that.”

“Shh just pretend like it doesn’t exist. Hold on lemme send it to you guys.”

“You know I can hear you guys, right?” Ennoshita said, eyes still closed. He tried suppressing a smile as he imagined the frozen looks of Nishinoya, Kinoshita, and Narita. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light at their own pace before fully opening them. He ignored the shit-eating grin on his friends' faces as they looked at Nishinoya’s phone in amusement. “How long was I out?”

“Not too long,” Kinoshita spoke up. “Class ended like five minutes ago.”

Ennoshita sat up and stretched, turning his body this and that way and reaching towards the sky. “Where’s Tanaka?” Ennoshita asked after glancing around the room. He could feel his friends’ hesitation. 

“He practically bolted the second the bell rang,” Naritra finally responded. “We have no idea where he went.”

Ennoshita let out a small yawn. “At least there’s no after-school practice today. He won’t have to worry about being all sweaty for his date.” He stretched a little before moving to pack up his things. He heard someone’s phone ding while stuffing the last of his papers in his bag followed by some shuffling.

“Hey hey!” Noya was more animated than usual, “let’s get something to eat to celebrate our victory!” He was hopping from foot to foot with excitement. Ennoshita perked up at the mention of food.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I need a little reward after that test.” Kinoshita was already daydreaming about the food they would soon consume.

Narita asked the obvious, “What should we get?”

“Well,” Nishinoya looked over to Ennoshita. “I think Ennoshita should get to choose today!” There was a certain fire in his eyes, one Ennoshita knew meant there was no fighting this.

“I have been craving ramen lately,” He thought out loud. “That sound good to everyone?” Ennoshita’s question was met with a resounding yes and with that, they gathered their belongings and made their way to a nearby ramen stand that Ennoshita had discovered his first year. 

The four second years walked comfortably alongside each other, discussing their test answers. Nishinoya occasionally let out some squacks and grumbles, indicating that he’d gotten a completely different answer than his friends. The conversation flowed freely up until they arrived at their destination, shifting from volleyball to T.V. shows and other random topics. Once they arrived they filed one by one into the small but comfortable stand and took their seats at the counter. They looked over the menu in silence, ordering once they had all decided, and once again fell back into talking. Laughter soon filled the air as they got settled in, the conversation never treading near the topic of the missing second year. 

Their food came just as their discussion was dying down, Ennoshita’s ramen arriving with the side of sea pineapple that he’d ordered. He’d be lying if the sea pineapple wasn’t half the reason why he kept coming back to this place. 

“I don’t get how you love that stuff so much Chikara.” Kinoshita was staring at the small platter in front of Ennoshita.

“I know it looks weird but it’s actually really good.” He quickly picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. Kinoshita visibly cringed and decided instead to focus on his own meal.

They now sat in silence, only the sounds of slurping filling the small building along with the occasional exhale from when one held their breath a little too long. Conversation picked back up once they were all mostly done with their meals. Ennoshita wasn’t quite sure how long they sat there just talking, but it was noticeably darker once they were finished and exited the stand. 

The four were just sort of wandering now, enjoying each other's company and looking around at the shops that lined the street they were on. Eventually, they ended up in front of a little park, Nishinoya, Kinoshita, and Narita stopping at the entrance and turning to face him. “Well Chikara, I think this is where we leave you.”

“Wait what?” Ennoshita looked up at his friends from the crack on the sidewalk that he had been tracing. They were nowhere near his house at this point. Actually, he wasn’t quite sure where they had ended up-

“Chikara.”

Ennoshita’s head whipped to his right at the all too familiar voice. Tanaka stood there, box of strawberries in hand. The last of the sun’s light created an ethereal glow around the boy and Ennoshita swore his soul left his body just a little bit.

Ennoshita looked over at the other three, the question of ‘ _you knew?’_ clearly plastered on his face. “Noya got a text from Tanaka while you were packing up asking us to distract you ‘till it got dark. Once it did, we brought you here.” Narita explained it plainly and simply.

“Yep! And now it’s time for us to leave!.” Nishinoya had the biggest grin on his face. “Have fun!” He yelled as they walked off.

Ennoshita was left dumbfounded, standing there in shock. The sound of Tanaka’s shoes scraping the pavement next to him snapped him out of it, his head turning to face the boy. 

“I bet this was the last thing you expected today, huh?” Tanaka was already a blushing mess. Ennoshita would’ve chuckled at how cute he looked, being so nervous, if he wasn’t already shaking. “So...you wanna go on a date right now, Chikara?”

Ennoshita sucked in a breath, his eyes widening at the hand that Tanaka extended his way. His words failed him, only being able to get out a nod as he reached out for Tanaka’s hand. Tanaka’s mouth curled into a soft smile, one that Ennoshita had never seen before (He swore his heart stopped for a few seconds at the sight). Once they were connected, Tanaka guiding Ennoshita somewhere, Ennoshita could feel both himself and Tanaka relax a little. This was _real_. This was really happening.

They didn’t exchange any words as Tanaka led him along a small dirt path into a wooded area. He could barely see much of anything except for Tanaka, his gaze fully fixated on the bald, fuzzy head in front of him. It was starting to get lighter again when Ennoshita finally spoke up.

“Oh my god, Tanaka you didn’t…” Ennoshita noticed they were coming up on a clearing, a large white rectangle hanging off of a particularly large tree. 

“Oh, but I did Chikara,” Tanaka slowed as they entered the clearing, “You said it was your dream after all.”

Ennoshita really didn’t know what to do. He wanted to hug, kiss, and slap Tanaka all at the same time. He ended up doing none of those though, instead examining the small clearing. It wasn’t much, but it was still all he could’ve asked for. A large blanket was laid across the grass with another on top and two pillows. Next to it was the projector, its cord leading to a generator off in the bushes. Ennoshita’s grip tightened on Tanaka’s hand, the resistance acting as a reminder that yes, this was happening. 

“Hey,” Tanaka spoke softly but it still caused Ennoshita to jump a bit. “You wanna sit?” 

Ennoshita stared blankly at Tanaka for a good ten seconds. “...What?”

Without missing a beat Tanaka burst out in a fit of laughter. Ennoshita felt his face grow hot in pure embarrassment. Tanaka’s laughter didn’t last too long, dying down quite quickly after it had started. “And I thought I was nervous,” Tanaka chuckled to himself.

“Hey, I had no warning before being thrown into my dream date situation with the guy I’ve had a huge crush on for the last couple of months.” Ennoshita dropped his gaze a little. “I think I’m allowed to be just a bit more nervous than you.”

Tanaka didn’t respond, instead taking Ennoshita by his hands again and leading him to the blanket. He sat down, pulling Ennoshita along with him so that they were seated next to each other. 

“So...what do you think?” Tanaka was looking at him expectantly, a little bit of that nervousness from before returning.

Ennoshita let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “It’s amazing Tanaka, it really is.” 

“Yes!” Tanaka celebrated by fist-pumping and wiggling in place. 

“So, what movie are we watching tonight dream-maker?”

Tanaka showed a shiny grin. “Heh well believe it or not I was able to grab a copy of that new marvel movie that-” Tanaka went stiff.

“What? You okay, Tanaka?”

Tanaka slowly turned to face Ennoshita, his eyes glued on the ground. “I sort of...forgot the movie at home…”

The two sat in silence for a second before Ennoshita began to giggle. It eventually grew into full-on laughter to the point where his stomach hurt. He was sure Tanaka was a red mess next to him as he held his abdomen. He calmed down after a minute and looked over at Tanaka who was still looking away.

“You know,” Tanaka glanced up at Ennoshita’s words, “I’m kinda glad you forgot the movie.”

Tanaka’s face twisted in confusion. “Why? Wasn’t your whole dream to watch a movie under the stars?”

“Well, yeah.” Ennoshita was feeling a little daring tonight. “But now that I’m actually here, I think I’d rather watch you the whole night.” Ennoshita wished he snapped a picture of Tanaka after he said that because he’d never seen someone’s face turn so red before. 

“Chikaraaaaa I’m supposed to be the cool one who sweeps you off your feet!” Tanaka was hiding his face in his hands at this point. 

“Oh stop whining.” Ennoshita scooted closer to Tanaka. “You did that a long time ago, Tanaka. Don’t worry.” Before Ennoshita knew it he was on the ground. Tanaka had pounced at him and was now trapped in a tight hug. After the initial shock had worn off Ennoshita returned the embrace, squeezing a little to make sure that nothing took away Tanaka. Tanaka’s hair tickled at his cheek as they sat there, Ennoshita having to fight the urge to rub his cheek against it. 

“Hey,” Ennoshita spoke up after a little, “Wanna watch the stars?”

Tanaka let out a small yawn before looking up at Ennoshita. “Hell yeah.” His response made Ennoshita giggle.

Ennoshita sat up, leaning back on his hands and directing his eyes skyward. From below he heard Tanaka let out another yawn, this one a lot louder and longer. “You sleepy?”

“Just a bit,” Tanaka was happily laying in Ennoshita’s lap. “Mind if I close my eyes here for a bit?”

Ennoshita felt like his heart was going to explode. “Not at all.” 

Tanaka smiled up at him. “Good, ‘cause I can see the biggest star from here too.” Yep, Ennoshita’s heart exploded.

“Oh my god, that’s so cheesy.” Ennoshita felt the heat on his face once again, pinching the bridge of his nose to feign annoyance. Tanaka just let out a chuckle before closing his eyes. 

They sat in silence for a while, Ennoshita tracing constellations with his eyes and Tanaka resting his eyes in his lap. He listened to the sound of Tanaka’s breathing, following the rhythm in his head and feeling his head shift slightly in time with it. 

“Hey, Chikara?” 

“Yeah?” Ennoshita kept his eyes on the sky, spotting Cassiopeia overhead.

“I love you.” Ennoshita’s breath got stuck in his throat for a second before he relaxed. He really didn’t deserve Tanaka.

“Yeah, I love you too, Ryuu.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOO HOOOOOO ITS DONE!!!! First of all HUGE shoutout to [@hamura_art over on twitter](https://twitter.com/hamura_art) for the amazing art! I felt it was the perfect way to end this little fic!
> 
> Second! I wanna plug that I'm running an Ennotana week!! For those interested you can drop by the [ennotana week twitter page](https://twitter.com/ennotanaweek20) for more info!
> 
> And lastly thank you guys so much for reading and leaving comments! This was my first serious attempt at a fic and every comment really means a lot to me!! 
> 
> Come talk at me over on [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/ennochikara) I have something new already in the works hehehe...


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